


Proud

by upsidedowns



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Comfort, Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 01:08:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19121497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/upsidedowns/pseuds/upsidedowns
Summary: Liam is the first to come out from One Direction. One night while on stage, Zayn notices how happy and free Liam is while they're performing. Zayn wants that for himself. So, he surprises the other boys by kissing Liam in front of thousands of fans. This encourages Harry and Niall to follow his actions. Louis doesn't know if he's brave enough to come out like the other boys.





	Proud

Liam smiles as he walks down the stage after chatting with their fans and reading some of their signs, heading up to join his boys again. They always love to take a few minutes during shows to chat with fans, taking time to thank them for coming to the show.

It’s the first show of their new tour, On The Road Again, in North America. They’re starting in San Diego. Luckily, the show has been going well so far with no major problems.

Liam glances over and he stops dead in his tracks when he spots a fan with a pride flag in their hands. Liam instantly turns to face the fan and bends down. “Hi there, can I have your flag?” He asks kindly, smiling when the fan tosses it to him. “Do you want this back?” Liam’s relieved when the fan tells him that they don’t need the flag back. He’s always wanted to run around on stage with a pride flag.

Despite being in a relationship with the other boys of One Direction, Liam is the only member who has officially came out as gay. He’s only done it recently, a few months ago, on instagram. Liam got sick of having to hide who he is. The boys support him, though they weren’t comfortable coming out themselves, and Liam’s not going to force any of them to come out either. He doesn’t mind hiding their relationship, just as long as he himself can be open about who he truly is as a person.

“Watcha got there, Liam?” Niall asks into the mic, raising his eyebrows as he watches him.

“I got a flag,” Liam replies with a grin, dancing with the flag a little.

“Go on, lad!” Liam hears Louis shout, which makes the audience scream even louder. “Alright, then-” Louis continues. “This is the part of the show where we say thanks to our incredible band.”

Liam walks over to his usual spot and sits down as Louis introduces the band. He looks up and smiles when Zayn wonders over to him. “Hi,” he greets, gently pulling Zayn closer to him.

Zayn chuckles. “Hey,” he says. “Nice flag you have there.”

“Mhm,” Liam says, twirling the flag around before wrapping it around Zayn’s neck. “That okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Zayn asks, raising his eyebrows at Liam.

Liam goes to reply to him, but he stops when Jon starts playing a song, and Liam instantly recognizes it as one of their older songs from Up All Night. Harry starts singing I Want. Niall gets a kick out of it, absolutely loving when one of their band plays an older song of theirs.

Zayn tries to sing along with them, but he just keeps getting distracted by Liam.

“Okay,” Louis laughs hard as Niall and Harry butcher the lyrics to Mmmbop next. “Big finish, boys.”

Liam stands up from his spot. He goes to take the flag off of Zayn, but Zayn stops him, surprising Liam.

“This is What Makes You Beautiful!”

“What are you doing?” Liam asks, staring at Zayn nervously.

Zayn takes a deep breath, unable to take his eyes away from Liam. “I’m going to kiss you,”

“Yeah? Do it,” Liam says with confidence, though he can tell that Zayn is extremely nervous for what’s about to happen now. Zayn’s a very private person when it comes to who he is and his relationships, and he hates having his name all over the tabloids and headlines. So the fact that this is happening is very surprising to Liam. But, if Zayn is really ready for this, then he’s certainly not going to stop him.

But, Zayn does it. He kisses Liam right on the lips.

The crowd screams as soon as the kiss happens. Harry immediately stops what he’s doing to look over to see why the crowd is suddenly screaming louder than normal. They’ve been a rather loud crowd tonight, but not this loud. His eyes widen when he sees that it’s Zayn and Liam. He looks over at Niall and Louis, who seem just as shocked as him. Harry gives them a confused look, but Louis only shrugs his shoulders.

Zayn pulls away from the kiss and takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I-”

Liam chuckles. “Don’t say you’re sorry, Z. Welcome to the club,” he says with a grin.

Zayn laughs, because of course Liam would only be able to make him laugh when he’s about to panic. “Yeah, um… we- we’ll talk later. We’ve got a show to finish,” he says.

“Right. Yeah. The show,” Liam nods. “Can I have my flag back now?”

“Nope,” Zayn smirks as he turns around and starts walking away. “It’s mine now, Liam!”

Liam whines and throws his arms up. “That’s my pride flag!” He shouts. 

Louis stops Zayn, grabbing a hold of him. “Mate, what the hell was that about?” He whispers in his ear.

“Dunno,” Zayn replies honestly. “Honestly. I have no clue. It just happened. We’ll talk later. Okay?”

Louis sighs, and he watches Zayn fondly as he continues singing along to What Makes You Beautiful, acting as if nothing even happened. The fans are probably going absolutely mad on twitter right now.

After the show, the boys head straight to the tour bus before anyone can ask them any questions about the kiss shared between Liam and Zayn.

“Okay. What the hell was that?” Harry is the first to ask once they’re on the tour bus.

“Yeah. You never said anything about coming out tonight,” Louis adds. “I’m not mad that you did it at all. I’m actually very proud. Just, also a little confused.”

“I don’t know,” Zayn says, sighing as he runs his hand through his hair. “I- I was just… watching Liam when he was on stage. No, Li. Not like that-” He rolls his eyes when Liam raises his eyebrows at Zayn. “It’s just that he was being so free, he can be himself on stage now. People don’t even care that he’s gay. I honestly wasn’t planning on doing that. Sorry to drag you in the middle like that, Li.”

“It’s okay. At least you warned me before you were kissing me,” Liam says, pulling Zayn close to him, and kissing his cheek. “People are going to talk. Are you going to be okay with that?”

“Yeah. I mean, no. I’m not okay with that. But, there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to get over it,” Zayn says. “I mean, if you can put up with it. So can I.”

“We’re different people, Z. We handle things differently,” Liam says.

“Yeah, but Zayn’s also not alone. We may not be out yet, but he knows he can always come to one of us if things get too much to handle,” Louis says as he looks sternly at Zayn specifically.

Zayn rolls his eyes. “I know, Lou,” he says.

“Now, I believe this calls for a celebration…” Liam begins as he grabs Zayn’s hand.

“You’re right! Where’s the champagne?” Niall asks excitedly.

“I don’t think that’s exactly what Liam meant, Ni,” Harry laughs as Liam drags Zayn out of the lounge and to the back of the bus where their bed is. “I can’t wait to see what people are saying about this on twitter.”

“You know, Zayn’s the most private among us. If Zayn can come out like that in front of thousands, simply because he saw Liam do what he does best… then, maybe…?” Niall looks over at Harry.

“You want to come out?” Harry asks, his voice soft as he spoke.

“I mean, it would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Niall asks hopefully.

“I’m more than ready,” Harry chuckles, and then he looks over at Louis. “Lou? Thoughts?”

Louis blinks a few times as he stares at the two, his ears not really believing what they’re hearing. “I…” He frowns. “I- I’m sorry, lads. I’m just… I’m not ready,”

“Hey,” Harry walks over to Louis, gently rubbing his arms. “You don’t have to. We would never…”

“Just because we’re ready to come out to the world, doesn’t mean you are. We don’t have to come out that we’re all seeing each other. No, we want you to come out on your own time,” Niall assures him.

Louis takes a deep breath and slowly nods. “That means a lot, Ni,”

“We just want you to be happy, Lou. That’s all,” Niall says.

Harry smiles, and gently kisses Louis. “Um... just don’t be surprised if there’s suddenly headlines about two more One Direction members coming out as gay in the next couple of days, alright?”

Louis lets out a laugh. “Fine,” he says, shaking his head.

****

“Damn, they really did it, huh?”

“What’s up?” Liam asks as he looks over at Louis, who’s leaning against him as he scrolls on his phone.

“Harry and Niall. They were papped last night,” Louis says, showing Liam pictures of Harry and Niall from when they were clubbing last night. There are pictures that show them kissing and holding hands, and showing that Harry confirmed he and Niall are gay on in his instagram, using the same photos in a story.

“Fucking adorable. Will you send those pics to me?” Liam asks. He glances at Louis and frowns when he sees the sad look on Louis’s face. “Hey, what’s wrong, love?” He wraps his arm around Louis.

“We would all be out right now, but… I’m holding us back,” Louis mumbles.

“What? No, babe. You’re not holding us back. Did someone tell you that?” Liam asks, anger rising in him at the thought of one of the other boys telling Louis that he’s holding them back.

“N-No, but… it’s true, isn’t it? I’m holding all of us back. We wouldn’t have to hide our relationship if I just stopped being a coward and came out like the rest of you have,” Louis huffs, and then gasps lightly when Liam grabs a hold of his chin and forces him to look up.

“You are not holding us back, Louis, do you hear me?” Liam warns, though his voice isn’t harsh at all. “We’ve already told you a million times that we don’t mind waiting. We can’t force you to come out, and we won’t. You’ll come out when you’re ready. Fuck, Lou. We love you. We’ll do anything for you.”

Louis closes his eyes, leaning further against Liam. “I love you, too,” he whispers.

“Good,” Liam smiles and gently kisses Louis’s forehead.

“So, you haven’t like… gotten any hate?” Louis asks. “Since you’ve been out?”

“I mean, of course I've gotten hate. There’s always going to be people that hate you for stupid reasons. It’s died down now that it’s been a few months. It doesn’t bother me anymore. Not really,” Liam says.

“Not really?” Louis asks, raising his eyebrows at Liam.

“You know, there could be thousands of nice comments, but it’s always that one negative comment that sticks out and hurts you. I never go looking for hate though. That shit can eat you up,” Liam says.

Louis giggles at Liam’s choices of words. “I don’t know. Maybe one day I’ll be brave enough,”

“Don’t rush yourself, boo. Whether it be months or years from now, we’ll support you when it happens,” Liam says, gently squeezing Louis. “Like I said, we just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” Louis tries to assure him. “I’ve got four wonderful boyfriends. What more could I ask for?”

Liam grins, and pulls Louis into a sweet kiss. “I love you,” he whispers.

****

A few weeks have passed since Zayn has come out, followed by Harry and Niall coming out. It’s still being talked about by the fans. They’ve been waiting for Louis to come out, thinking he would be the last one to come out of the band, though Louis hasn’t said anything about it, only showing his support for his band mates. The fans still only assume that it’s just Liam and Zayn in a relationship, as well as Harry and Niall.

Now, it’s their first interview during tour since all of this news as come out. Louis is anxious, and nervous.

“Welcome, boys. How are you enjoying tour?” The interview asks, smiling at the boys.

Liam and Zayn are sitting beside each other, Harry and Niall beside each other. Louis is in the middle, but luckily he doesn’t mind. He always enjoys sitting in the middle of his boys.

“Tour is great,” Liam replies first. “Every night is crazy. We love it.”

“The crowds have been really amazing,” Zayn adds, Liam nodding in agreement.

“I can only imagine, especially with the latest news coming from you boys,” the interviewer chuckles. “Louis, I have to ask. Is it weird being the only straight boy in the band?”

Harry can’t help but giggle, which instantly sets Louis off. Because, they know the truth.

Louis glances at the other boys, before looking at the interviewer again. “Bold of you to assume that I’m straight,” he says.

The interviewer’s eyes instantly widen at Louis’s comment. “Well, I- I only assume because you’ve denied that you’re gay before, correct? Back in the early days when Larry was the popular ship,” she says.

“That’s true. But, I was young back then. I didn’t know any better,” Louis says, shrugging his shoulders, and shocking the other boys that he’s even responding to these questions.

“Lou,” Zayn warns softly as he looks over at the older boy. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.”

“S’alright, lad. I’ve got this,” Louis says, waving Zayn off with his hand. “Sorry, love. Continue.”

The interviewer clears her throat. “Okay, then. So, you’re not straight. But, still. It must be quite weird when you’re the only one who’s not in a relationship,” she says. "We've got Liam and Zayn over there, and Harry and Niall over here. That leaves you out."

“Bold of you to assume I’m not in a relationship with any of these boys,” Louis smirks.

“Oh my God, Louis!” Liam exclaims, his eyes widen. “I’m so sorry-” He says to the interviewer. “Ignore him. Louis just loves to give our interviewers a hard time. Please continue.”

“Well, no. To me it sounds like you’re stating you’re all in a relationship… with each other…?”

Louis looks over at the other boys for approval, and they each give him a nod. “Yes, that’s correct,” he confirms, taking a deep breath.

The interview finally ends. Louis is the first to jump out of his chair. He already knows that management is going to have a lot to say to him later, but Louis doesn’t really care at this point anymore. He’s tired of watching the other boys be out while he’s still hiding. It’s not fair. Louis just wants to be himself.

“Well,” Liam clears his throat once the interviewer leaves. “That… happened. Lou? What was that all about?”

“You realize that interview is going to be posted _today_ ,” Zayn adds.

Louis rolls his eyes, and then he turns and looks at the other boys. “Yes, I’m well aware Zayn,” he says. “I knew exactly what I was doing when I was answering those questions.”

“Lou, I’m so fucking proud of you,” Harry runs over to him and hugs him tightly.

“Thanks, Haz,” Louis mumbles as he hugs Harry back.

Harry pulls away and kisses Louis a few times. “You know what’s bold? That interviewer thinking Larry isn’t still the popular ship,” he says, grinning when Louis giggles.

“I dunno, Haz. I think Narry gives Larry a run for its money,” Niall pouts and crosses his arms against his chest..

Liam laughs. “Well, lads. I think this calls for a celebration! We're all out, and this is-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa-”

Louis groans as soon as he hears Paul’s voice. “Aw, come on, Paul!” His head falls on Harry’s shoulders.

“Really, Paul. Can’t you give us a lecture later?” Zayn asks.

“No, we have a lot to talk about. What the hell was that interview?” Paul asks, throwing his arms up.

“That was Louis coming out,” Liam says. “And us confirming that we’re in a relationship with each other.”

“All five of you?” Paul asks, raising his eyebrows as he looks at each of the boys.

“Come on, you can’t be that surprised,” Niall laughs. “Especially after Harry, Zayn and I came out.”

“I’m actually plenty surprised,” Paul says. “Do you have any idea what people will say about the five of you being in a relationship?”

“Paul, no offense-” Louis walks over to him and looks up at him. “But, I don’t give a flying fuck about what people will say about us anymore. I’m happy. We’re happy. That’s all that matters. We’ve been hiding our relationship since the beginning of the band, and we deserve to be out.” He gently pats Paul’s arm. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some celebrating to do. Boys?”

Liam grins, and rushes over to Louis, kissing him. “Lou, I’m _so_ proud of you,” he says.

“We all are!” Zayn says, pulling all five of his boys into a tight hug.


End file.
